Challenge Accepted
by aerococonut
Summary: When the hottest girl in law school offers her a challenge, Mia has no choice but to accept. Especially since it could end in a date to a fancy new restaurant. The only real problem is whether Mia can even PASS the exam, let alone ace it.


Mia groaned and opened the next of her textbooks. She'd been in the library over an hour, and still didn't feel like any of this information was sticking in her brain. _Guess I won't be passing the exam in a week's time_ , she thought, slumping forward. As a result, she missed the entrance of one Lana Skye into the library.

"Thought I might find you here," Lana's voice interrupted her defeatist thoughts. She leaned against the desk, her long brown hair pooling over the wooden surface. "Studying hard for the exam?" she asked innocently, flicking her long red scarf over one shoulder. The scarf was the only splash of colour against Lana's no-nonsense black skirt and white blouse.

The effect was striking, Mia Fey had to admit. "Of course," she responded, tucking a wayward strand of black hair behind her ear. "I have to keep up with you, after all!" Mia held up a textbook, pulling a face. "There's just so much we need to memorise! I don't know how you keep it all straight." She smoothed down the material of her black skirt, wiping off the sweat that was beading her hands.

"Straight? Not likely," Lana chuckled and pulled out a chair, sitting down gracefully. She rested her head against a hand, her gaze pinning Mia to the spot.

Mia blinked and ducked her head, wondering if that was a double entendre. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part. As if stunning law student Lana Skye would ever hit on her. "Does that mean you won't give me any tips?"

Lana smiled, tapping one red painted fingernail on the desk. "Well, I didn't really come here to give you tips. I was actually thinking more along the lines of dinner." She leaned back, lacing her fingers together in front of her. "I need a challenge, you see. Nobody else seems to want to succeed in life, so I'm left looking for a decent challenger to my top of the school position. And rumour has it that you're a very up and coming student. I figure, by offering you dinner, I might obtain a decent rival." Lana slammed a hand on the desk. "Mia Fey! I challenge you to beat me in the upcoming test!" She delivered her challenge in ringing tones, one finger outstretched in Mia's direction. "If you score higher than me on the test, I will buy you dinner at Yamato Restaurant. That's the lovely new Japanese-styled restaurant that opened a couple of weeks ago, in case you were wondering."

Mia couldn't do anything but sit there, her mind going completely blank. _A challenge?_ _She wants me to fight her in a battle of wits?_ She gaped at Lana, before frowning. _Why the hell does Lana want dinner with me? Especially since Yamato is a very expensive, highly exclusive restaurant. It's the ultimate date location! And yet, this isn't a date. Unfortunately. Maybe it's a superiority complex. She thinks there's no way I'll beat her._ Mia shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts. She opened her mouth to argue that there was no way she was going to score higher than Lana Skye. What came out was, "You're on! I love Japanese cuisine and defeating you is only going to make it taste better!"

The brilliant smile Lana gave her threatened to send Mia into heart palpitations. "Fantastic. I'll come meet you here after we find out our scores. Give it your best, Mia Fey!" Lana rose in one smooth motion and all but glided away, giving a little wave over her shoulder.

Her best probably wasn't going to be good enough. Mia groaned and dropped her head into her hands. How did she get herself in these messes? Shaking her head, she gathered her resolve and slammed her hands down on the desk. She was Mia Fey, and she was not going to miss out on a date with the hottest girl in law school!

Determined, Mia made a pile of relevant textbooks and whipped out a notebook and pen. "Alright Mia, let's get to it!" She flipped open the first textbook and sat about summarising it, taking note of the most relevant information and jotting down anything she thought could appear on the test.

For the first hour, she was focused, furiously writing down important notes in tight, scratchy handwriting until her hand cramped.

During the second hour, her attention was starting to drift, and she found herself wondering what sort of Japanese food the restaurant had, and whether this challenge meant Lana Skye could possibly be interested in her romantically. After all, inviting someone out for dinner was a date, wasn't it?

By the third hour, she'd spent more time staring into space and chewing the end of her pen than writing, and her stomach was starting to rumble.

Halfway through the fourth hour, she threw her pen down in disgust. "I'm doomed," she moaned, dragging herself to her feet. Gathering all her textbooks, she placed them in her bag and slung it across her shoulders. Time for a change of scenery. She'd grab some dinner on the way back to her dorm and hit the books refreshed and ready to go.

Junk food in hand, she sprawled on her bed and once again attempted to cram information into her brain. If only she could sleep on the book and learn through osmosis. No, Mia, focus! Now is the time for Law, not Science! Sighing, she grabbed another textbook and went back to studying.

Her alarm jolted her awake, and with a sigh she reached over to hit the button to stop the incessant beeping. There was an ink stain down her arm from where her pen had leaked. She'd fallen asleep using a textbook for a pillow. "Right, study," Mia mumbled, scrubbing her face with her hands. "I knew there was a reason I set my alarm so early." Normally she wouldn't be out of bed by this time, but she'd figured she'd sneak in some study time before her first lecture of the day.

This became her routine for the next week. She spent every spare minute with her head in a book, desperately hoping to raise her marks enough to defeat the reigning high score queen Lana Skye. Socialising became a thing of the past (friends? What friends?). Ringing her sister in Kurain was postponed for a week. Anything that wasn't eating, sleeping, or studying was thrown out the window.

And then the day of the test arrived.

Mia stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. This was it. Either she'd learned enough, or she was going to bow to Lana's superior studying skills. Steeling herself, she walked through the door.

Taking her seat, Mia lined up her pens and waited anxiously for the announcement to start.

"Students, you may begin the test," the supervisor said.

 _Already? I'm not ready!_ Gulping, she flicked over the top page and read the first question. _Hey, I know this one!_ Feeling hopeful that maybe she'd do alright, Mia wrote the answer and moved on. To her surprise, she found herself recalling quite a few pieces of information she'd studied, and she answered questions with confidence. _Maybe I'm in with a chance after all!_

Then she reached the essay section and her newfound confidence plummeted. _I take it back…_

Picking one of the topics at random, she hastily put together her arguments and scrawled the topic sentence at the top. From there, it was a combination of remembered knowledge, waffling sentences and works cited, and a healthy percentage of bullshit. All the makings of a true college essay.

The supervisor's voice broke through her focus. "Ten minutes remaining!"

Mia sat bolt upright, panic rising. Had three hours really passed already? She finished the last sentence and rifled back through the pages. Had she answered all the questions? Was her essay going to pass muster? Did she even write her name on the damn sheet?

"Time's up!"

 _The supervisor's voice is really annoying,_ Mia thought snidely, handing in her test and standing up and stretching. For better or worse, it was over. Now was the agonising wait to find out her results. In the meantime, she was going to relax and probably ring her sister. Maya was no doubt wondering what had happened to her.

The first thing she did when she got back to her apartment was ring Maya.

"Where have you been?" Maya greeted her cheerfully, after she'd finally reached the Kurain phone. "I thought you were going to ring a few days ago."

Mia rubbed her face. "I'm so sorry sis; I had to study for a test. You remember how I was telling you about Lana, right?" Telling Maya about the challenge would more than make up for not ringing earlier. Maya loved hearing stories about the city.

"Oh, you mean the hottest girl in school?" Maya's voice got louder. "Did something happen? You have to tell me!"

Chuckling, Mia crossed her legs in her seat and leaned back. "Alright, so here's how it went. She basically came up to me and challenged me to beat her in the test we had today. If I won, she'd take me out to dinner." She heard Maya's sharp intake of breath.

"Oh my goodness that's so cool! Sis, she totally has a crush on you too!" Maya was clearly happy by this development, if her volume was anything to go by. "So how did you think you went?" she asked excitedly. "You know you should just ask her out for dinner even if you don't win." Maya snorted down the phone. "She's obviously interested, and you're head over heels, why not go for it?"

Trust Maya not to beat around the bush. "I'll wait and see," Mia said, idly doodling over her notebook. "Who knows, I might have won anyway!" Positive thinking, that was the key. Mia was a smart, beautiful, dedicated woman who just happened to be fascinated by another smart, beautiful, dedicated woman. One who was notorious for being on top of the leaderboard. _Maybe I should just ask her out, and not risk embarrassing myself in front of her_. _There's no way I beat Lana! What am I thinking?_

Maya, as if sensing her distress, immediately chirped up. "You are the best sis! Of course you won!"

She could picture Maya pumping her fist in the air, grinning widely. "You're the best sis," she teased. "Thanks for the support Maya. Now I'd better let you get back to work. I'll ring you again soon, okay?" Because there was no way Maya would forgive her if she didn't tell the whole story in minute detail immediately after it happened.

"Sure thing!" Maya made kissing noises into the phone before hanging up.

Mia went to bed that night feeling like she could conquer the world. Or at least this test.

She woke up the morning of the test results announcement feeling like she was going to be sick. Mia knew it was just nerves, but a part of her was chanting _I am so not ready for this._ The morning was spent with a cloud of dread hanging over her head.

Finally, the clock on her computer clicked over to 12:00 and she opened her scores.

 _Holy shit,_ was her first thought. _I did way better than I thought I would._ "I might even give Lana a run for her money!" she squealed aloud, hurriedly slapping a hand over her mouth to forestall further outbursts. _I really might have won this_. Feeling smug, she strolled out of the room and went back to the library to wait for Lana.

It only took half an hour for Lana Skye to appear. "Hey, there's my challenger," Lana said, flicking back her hair and leaning against the desk. "So tell me! How did you do?"

Mia fiddled with her fringe, a smile spreading across her face, _Moment of truth._ "I did really well, to my surprise. I got 97 percent!" Even if she didn't end up beating Lana, it was still a great score, and one she was proud of.

Lana blinked, before her lips tilted up. "Congratulations!" She leaned closer, her face only inches from Mia's. "In that case, I believe I owe you dinner."

"I-that's okay!" Mia squeaked. She was having trouble forming cohesive thoughts. _Lana is really close._ "I mean, yes, I'd love to go to dinner with you!" Well, that was to the point.

Lana beamed, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Fantastic! Here's my contact details in case you need to ring me. Otherwise, how about I meet you at the restaurant at 7pm tomorrow night?"

"That's fine." Mia knew she was grinning like a maniac, but she couldn't bring herself to stop. "I'll be there!"

"Great." Lana gave her a little wave before walking off.

Mia watched her go, one hand clasping the card tight. _I have a date. With Lana Skye._ Caught between disbelief and extreme joy, Mia had to fight off the urge to dance around the library.

It wasn't until after their highly successful date that a thought struck Mia.

Lana hadn't ever mentioned her own test score.

...

 **A/N:** From my 52 prompts list, this is number two, "rising to a challenge". Also on Archives of our Own!


End file.
